The United States put Egypt in charge of negotiations between
Israel and Hamas, thereby taking the Islamic Republic of
Iran, which up to now has been the Palestinian terror
organization’s main sponsor, out of the equation.

The architecture of Washington’s plans for Middle East security
is starting to take shape: Despite – or perhaps because of –
Egypt’s domestic turbulence, the country is to be developed into
a credible guarantor for at least a provisional
Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Through Cairo, and with the support of Saudi Arabia
and Qatar, Hamas is to be weaned off Iranian influence –
indeed the weaning is part and parcel of the peace process.

Because of the significant influence in the Arab world to be won
for Egypt by his cooperation, the Islamist
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has been playing his
part in the American-scripted scenario not only reliably but also
very convincingly.

What has also emerged is that Egypt, although it is drifting in
the direction of Islamic theocracy, still relies on American
aid: without the billions of dollars that the U.S. pumps in, the
Egyptian military would be reduced to the level of a carnival
troupe.